Indigenous voting rights
Queensland society in the late 1800s was highly discriminatory against Indigenous people and the suffrage movement was divided on the issue of race, since voting rights were not pursued equally for all racial groups.
Indigenous people were denied voting rights under the Queensland Elections Act 1885 which defined Indigenous people as any 'aboriginal native of Australia, India, China or of the South Sea Islands', unless they were 'freeholders and male'.
Indigenous women's and men's struggle for voting rights continued for many years with universal Indigenous suffrage not being achieved until 1965.
Indigenous Queenslanders were able to vote in their State's elections for the first time on 28 May 1966 although voting for Indigenous Queenslanders remained voluntary until 1971.
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Last updated: 8 April 2008
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